Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest

This is the first in-depth biography of the legendary singer and “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” a woman who combatted racism and prejudice through the profound power of her music.

Odetta channelled her anger and despair into some of the most resonant folk music the world has ever encountered. Through her evocative lyrics and iconic persona, Odetta instigated lasting political, social, and cultural change.

A pivotal figure in the 1960s folk revival, Odetta stands as one of the most important singers of the last century. Her music has exerted a significant influence on a vast number of artists across many decades, including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Kinks, Jewel, and more recently, Rhiannon Giddens and Miley Cyrus.

However, Odetta’s significance extends far beyond the realm of music. Journalist Ian Zack meticulously traces Odetta’s journey from her early life in deeply segregated Birmingham, Alabama, to her ascendance to stardom in San Francisco and New York. Odetta strategically used her fame to bring crucial attention to the civil rights movement, working collaboratively alongside Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, and other committed artists. Her opera-trained voice resonated powerfully at the 1963 March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery march, and she organised a tour throughout the deeply segregated South. Her “Freedom Trilogy” songs became powerful rallying cries for protesters everywhere.

Through insightful interviews with Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, and numerous others, Zack brings Odetta back into the spotlight, reminding the world of the vital folk music that fuelled the civil rights movement and continues to inspire generations of musicians in the present day.